Keith B

Here's my theory: Money talks. Offer Pochettino an annual salary that makes him one of the highest paid managers in world football. Tell him that in the summer of 2020 he's got a $150M transfer kitty to work with Brands on. He knows the EPL and I believe, probably naively, that Everton is a sleeping giant. We've already got the players to play the way he wants to play. Spurs never invested the money Everton has. To be quite honest, I'm so sick of Silva and tired of losing matches that should be comfortable wins that I'll take anyone new. Don't prefer Moyes but he wasn't half bad with West Ham last year was it? Anyone but Silva at this point.

Of all the horrible, no good transfers we've made over the past few years, I think Gylfi is the worst. We paid more for him than the shite paid for Salah. But every Everton manager has felt compelled to play him even though it is pretty clear his only real value is set pieces. And you're #10 has to have more value than just set pieces. It is really incredible--he was good for a Swansea team that was bordering on (and eventually got) relegation. He's just not a premiere league quality player and especially not one worth 45 million pounds. A brave manager would bring him off the bench and Marco has done that from time to time with decent results. But his persistence in the starting lineup is a mystery to me. He can't get on the ball, he can't stay on the ball, and he can't do anything with it unless he's got acres of space.

There's a lot wrong about how this match played out. I thought the VAR decision was very harsh. The ball was going out no matter way Keane did or (probably) didn't do. So that was a really bad and unfortunate decision. The fatal part, for me, is the attitude and lack of confidence that followed. Mostly in that our boys don't have it. I know I'm a dumb American on this stuff but when I played American football the teams I was lucky enough to play on always took pride in being mentally tough in the last 1/4 of the game. But that doesn't come easy--it means a ton of conditioning and hard work under pressure. In practice and training, we fucking ran till we all puked. But the payoff was knowing that when we got a lead late we could see it out. And that's what's missing here. The players don't believe they deserve to win because they haven't earned it in training. I bet the number of times Sir Alex teams lost after leading in the 75th minute can be counted on one hand. Our boys, a lot of which are really good at football, just don't have the confidence necessary to see it out. And not to belabor the point, but that comes on the training ground. You have to earn the confidence. And I don't think they've even been asked to earn it. But when you've puked, thought you were going to die, run a thousand extra sprints that you thought were all your last sprint; that's when you earn the confidence to finish out a match like today's. A lot went against us today, but those points were out there for us. We just haven't earned them.

By far our best match of the season. Keep the same starting line up for BHA Marco!

Trust me, I wanted him to succeed. If he would have been able to go on a run of good form, he probably gets the job for the remainder of that season and we avoid the whole Sam Allardyce era. I just didn't see anything that suggests he has any real ideas. I would also say that there is something wrong with Everton's player development program, though I don't know how much Unsy is to blame. But we haven't integrated an academy product in ages. (We thought we may have had something with Davies and Holgate but both have stagnated.)

I don't know what you guys were watching when he was in charge for that brief period two seasons ago. It wasn't pretty.

Tim's last competitive match is tonight for the Colorado Rapids. He's retiring. Tim basically got me back into soccer after about 20 years away. He represented our club and the USMNT brilliantly.

I obviously don't think it would be very good! In my very honest, but partly drunk, opinion, the season is already lost. We've already dropped too many points against beatable sides. I don't think we can finish top 6, so the question for me is if Marco can go on a run of 20 or so matches where the team has success coupled with a coherent tactical plan A and B. I think we are way too talented to really face relegation. I also don't think it makes much sense to fire a manager in the middle of a season simply to finish 11 rather than, say 14th. Ultimately, I'm out on Silva. I don't think he's the guy. But I'm also not trying to overreact. I could be wrong about him.

I don't think a manager can do all the things he's asked to do: coach the team, plan for the opposition, and handle the media and public facing duties and also, say, know the potential of the players in the second division in Italy. That's why you have a sporting director. That person and his or her staff identify players that fit the system, fit the budget, and might want to play for Everton. Those players are taken to the manger for review. I'd be surprised if the manager doesn't have the final say, but in certain cases, I suspect the sporting director can overrule him.

I think he has through the Anfield derby to turn it around. Away to Burnley, home with West Ham, away to Brighton, home to Spurs, away to Soton, home for Norwich, and away to LCFC. There are lots of points on offer there. I think 12 out of 18 is reasonable. If he hasn't picked up a load of points, his last match will be a loss away in the Derby on December 4th. Of course, no matter the results, a win away at Anfield and he's safe for awhile.

On paper, you'd say this was the easiest match we'll have all year. A promoted side at home. But we lost it and never looked particularly in it. I think the players are sufficiently good enough to keep us out of relegation territory but that is an awfully low bar for a club that's spent so freely in the market. I don't know what the problem is but we have really struggled to create chances and score goals so far this season. Silva has to figure that out. While I don't necessarily blame him for bringing on all his attackers today, that's always been his only answer when chasing a match. Insofar that we've got a little over a season seeing him do that, I'm not sure that "plan b" is it either.

I know Gylfi is a popular player but I think he's a big problem for us. One goal and one assist in six matches from our #10 isn't enough. He can't get on the ball so he can't take advantage of his shooting from distance ability or his vision. He's slow. His passing was very off today--he hit a couple through balls directly to their keeper. I know he runs a lot and presses but to what end? I haven't seen it produce anything. I think he's a big reason why we tend to advance the ball down the wings rather than the middle of the field. He's also now 30 years old so this could be a lot more than a temporary dip in form. He's go this season and two more on his contract so this is something Marco's going to have to figure out.

I'd like to see Iwobi for 30 minutes for one of the wingers--whichever one is least effective. If Baines still isn't healthy enough and Digne out, then Coleman at LB and the lad we got on load from PSG at RB. For me DCL needs to show a lot more than he has so far. I like DCL a lot--the effort is there with him but as a striker he's got to score.

I thought he was very good in the first half but rather anonymous in the second half.

Defense was sound but the rest of that left a lot to be desired for me. The whole second half was just booting balls up the field with no real purpose. That sort of performance isn't going to beat any of the top 6.

Good: Coleman--First half looked like he turned back the clock 3 or 4 years. Pickford--Came up big when called upon. Gomes--Performance dipped tremendously when he went off. Bad Bernard--He pulls of a tricky move then gives the ball away too easily. Gylfi--He's on the pitch to bury the chance he had very early in the match. Gave the ball up much too easily after that and was basically a non-factor at best and a malefactor at worst. Gbamin--not up to PL speed just yet. Gets a pass from me since he probably doesn't even know all his teammates' names yet. Schnederlin--two dumb cards ruin an otherwise solid performance. Others worth mentioning: Keane and Mina looked solid. Looking forward to that relationship developing further.

Typical Brazil shit. It was 0-0 at half, even though Brazil had most of the ball and a bunch of shots. So they booed them off the pitch, which I thought was very harsh. But when you are Brazil, you are expected to score six bangers each half. Not sure why it wasn't a sell-out. Apparently they are playing these Copa Americas basically every non-world cup summer so it could be a little bit of event fatigue combined with a less than exciting opponent. Bolivia is a fine side, but not moving the needle like Argentina or Columbia, probably.

He looked pretty good last night. Was interchanging with Firmino on the right wing and central. Really good hold up play and he was active and dangerous for most of the match.

Very true. The whole USMNT sucks right now and Wigan would probably beat them 4-0. The USWNT, on the other hand, are sublime.

I thought he was really, really bad. I badly want him to succeed, but I don't see him at the premier league level right now. And I'd honestly be surprised if he ever gets there. Not writing the guy off, but he's been mostly bad for the USMNT.

I follow Dortmund in my spare, non-Everton time and they do an amazing job of finding young talent, developing it and then selling it on for a significant profit. O. Dembele, C. Pulisic, and E. Mor are three recent examples. Sancho will be sold for $100M eventually. It is a model that can work for Everton, but it takes a real commitment to development and scouting. I'm not sure if Everton has it in them, but I'd love to see them employ this sort of thing. Thought I'm not sure it is repeatable.

To answer the original question, yes, Everton might be able to crack the top six: 1.) The main issue is about us, Everton. As some have stated above, we were collectively optimistic going into Koeman's second season. That didn't turn out so well. The big question: Does the finish to this season suggest Silva's system is beginning to click or a run of luckier than usual results? Secondly, on this point, can Everton find a right back, striker, and cover for Gylfi at the 10? Does Brands decide to roll the dice on DCL at striker? Can Brands find the Digne and Benards again this summer? If we can't sign Zouma, can Mina stay healthy for 30 minutes? And if Mina can stay healthy, can he be as good as Zouma? 2.) United are an absolute mess. They'll splash a lot of cash this summer, but I don't think their management has any idea what they are doing so those dollars may not be well spent. I think they can be passed in the table, assuming their transfer policy is as incompetent as it has been over recent years. 3.) Chelsea might get hit with a transfer ban. Hazard is likely going out and he has been one of the best, if not the best, player in the EPL over the past several seasons. That's not easily replaceable. I don't know exactly how they replace that and even though I love Christian Pulisic (I'm American), he ain't it. 4.) Spurs, who I hope play the best game of their collective lives on June 1st, are due for a dip. Their main guys play a lot of minutes and managers are a genius until they aren't. As someone stated above, Klopp left Dortmund in the middle of a season when Dortmund were in the relegation zone. Could we see a similar drop-off from Spurs? I seriously doubt it, but crazier stuff has happened. 5.) Arsenal: Still can't defend but I'd expect they do something in the transfer market to address it. Auba turns 30 next month and pacey strikers don't typically age well. Oh and he wore out his welcome at Dortmund by missing practice and generally being a dipshit. Also, are we sure Emery is a decent manager? (He probably is) 6.) Maybe Liverpool slips a bit. I can't see how Real Madrid doesn't come after Salah, but what do I know. They seemed to get every lucky break this year save the Stones goal line clearance. Don't see City slipping at all and in fact, they might even strengthen their side in an attempt to win a quad. Wolves, Watford, and Leicester will all be thinking the same thing though.

Not sure I'd bring Gomes back after his layoff for a match that doesn't matter (or probably won't matter). Schniederlin has looked good the last few weeks; I'd stick with him. But I like the way the team has looked the last 6-7 weeks so no reason to change too much.

Very solid performance today. Makes me optimistic for next season. But first, let's go to Spurs and beat them too.

Hate that I was right about this. Miserable performance today.